Monthly Archives: February 2018

I love writing for the outlet it gives. However, the most important thing I have learned is that if through my story I am able to help even one friend or stranger to feel less alone, or do something that will change their life for the better (i.e. go see the dermatologist and get a scary mole removed, seek help for post-partum mood disorders, start using a budget!) then all of this has been worth it.

SO. Here we are.

Since September, I have had another baby, returned to work. Seen friends get married. Celebrated babies on the way. Mourned with friends who have lost babies. Attended three funerals, the most recent being the death of Marcus’ 91 year old grandfather. I try to be very honest here and portray my life accurately but there are just some stories that are not mine to tell. Like a lot of stories actually.

Anyway. About three weeks ago I started experiencing some occasional shortness of breath. By last Monday, I was like…having to strain to breathe all day. I went to urgent care after work and they told me I had post-partum asthma. Weird, but apparently a thing that can flare up if you had asthma in the past. They sent me home with an inhaler that I took regularly for the next two days and did not do a damn thing. So I went back to urgent care on Wednesday. They of course ran tests to be sure I did not have a blood clot or post-partum heart failure (which is actually the first thing that pops up when you Google post-partum breathlessness hello scary af). After these came back negative (praise hands) the doctor turned to me and asked, Do you feel anxious?

Me: EVERYTHING IS COMPLETELY FINE I DO NOT FEEL ANXIOUS AT ALL. (Seriously, I did not “feel” anxious in the way that I normally do.)

Her: Try taking a Xanax anyway. You have a lot going on in your life right now and shortness of breath is a very common symptom of anxiety.

Y’all I was super skeptical but then I took that pill and yes, yes it was anxiety because I could breathe again. I didn’t have a clue about how tight/tense my chest was until it relaxed. Also taking this in the evening for a few days helped me to get “back on track.” Obviously this works differently for everyone, but for me, if it recurs or worsens, I will need to go back to the doctor to find a more appropriate regular medication. For the here and now, I know I need to be using the coping techniques I have practiced in the past and that I need to take a step back from…everything.

Sometimes you see this stuff coming, sometimes you don’t. As some of you may know, I experienced this after Critter was born and since I wasn’t having the same symptoms this time around I just thought everything was fine.

I wasn’t but I am glad to be on the way back to fine now.

All of this is to say if you’re reading this right now and you do not feel fine, you are not alone. For the rest of the group, thank you for coming along for the ride.

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It’s almost the end of February. We are still just chipping away at house projects.

The new water softener was installed. It took nearly an extra week because the first time they were supposed to install it, they took it to our old townhouse (address located nowhere on the order form) and installed it there. So our buyers got a free water softener. And now we have a matching one!

We got the new dishwasher installed last week. It is a Bosch and it is quiet (our old dishwasher was also a Bosch and quiet) but it also has a third rack for extra silverware or whatever and that is AMAZING. It is superb for sippy cup straws, sippy cup lids and the like.

I sourced some drum lampshades to update the lights in our living room that have had the wrong shades forever. Look.

Before.

After.

SO much better.

Did I mention I am an extremely mediocre photographer.

As the weather starts to warm up (so April-ish) we’ll turn our focus outdoors to do some much MUCH needed landscaping.

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Shoutout to everyone who shared a recipe in my Facebook comments or sent me them directly. I have listed and linked all of the recipes here so that we can all try something new in the next few weeks! If you wrote out a recipe by hand, I tried to find a comparable match online (and I think I did pretty well!).

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Our dishwasher is broken so if you could lift us up in prayer that would be great.

I also did a few really efficient things this week. Like making a meal for a new mama. Batch cooking some meals for us. Making slow cooker meals on Tuesday and Thursday when we already had other plans so they would be easy work night dinners instead.

Finally, friends shared A TON of meal ideas so I will be working on a post that captures all of them.

Saturday – Nachos, Salad

Honestly, this was a dinner of leftovers.

Sunday – Tamale Pie, Salad

I actually made three tamale pies – and then froze two of them. I cooked the chicken by tossing it into the slow cooker and shredding. I used actual eggs and whole milk and then mixed some beans with the chicken to top (about 1/3 can drained and rinsed per dish).

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(Me internally: Thank God for friends who very literally have the highest aspirations for me)

Me Out Loud: LOL no I am power walking.

BUT.

Here we are.

I finally got new running shoes (hello goal complete!). And now our treadmill has been used for more than me trying to go into labor (which worked). I realized last week that I hadn’t put any hooks for workout clothes up in our closet.

My goal for right now (and let’s be serious probably until both children are in school) is to exercise three times a week. It can be all walking, all yoga, a combination of the two. I am not doing it to get skinny, I am doing it because I am an unbearable person to be around when I don’t.

Where do I fit it in? Well, usually right after dinner (another reason I am not thinking about running at all right now) because that is the time I have. Generally our mornings start by 6:30 at the latest but sometimes as early as 4:30 or 5:00. This is fine, but there is no way for me to wake up before my children do. Morning workouts will have to be the domain of the time when they can finally pour themselves cereal and turn on some cartoons.

Do I have the time for this? Sort of but not really. I do in the sense that the minutes exist. I do not in the sense that once dinner is put away, Marcus and I usually try to do one productive project each night. This can be cleaning a bathroom or the kitchen, folding laundry, sweeping out the mudroom, you get the idea. So now I do this and that. It is fine. We are all happier when our house is passably clean.

And now with all of this you know the tiniest bit about my pseudo-workout routine and our general housekeeping. The end.